Diego Pounds is an offensive tackle from the University of Mississippi. He is 6’6 and 325 pounds. He is from Raleigh, North Carolina, and attended Millbrook HS. Pounds originally attended UNC out of high school and transferred to Ole Miss for his junior and senior years. He was also on the Wuerffel Trophy preseason watch list. He did not have any injuries during his college career.
Pounds has a good frame and slim look for his position. He carries 325 well and does not appear to look sloppy on tape. Pass blocking is the better part of his game. He does show good instincts and football IQ, as he can see and react to twists up front. His hand placement is good, and he does a good job of keeping his arms extended. When he extends his arms and locks out defenders, he can establish control and mirror defenders for a short time. Pounds has good lateral movement, can reach the second level, and knows his blocking assignments in the run game.
Pounds does play with a high pad level, especially if he is in a 2-point stance. He needs to work on gaining more flexibility and getting lower in stance. Pounds also needs to work on his punch. When he comes out of his stance on run plays, he does not knock back his defenders or move them to open up a lane for the running back to go through. He can also improve on this by chopping his feet. When he makes contact with defenders, his feet stop, and that lets defenders hold their position. Pounds also has a tough time blocking edge defenders when using their speed, especially in pass pro. He is slow off the ball, and defenders can bend and get around him. Pounds could also show to put in more effort on plays.
Overall, Pounds is a raw offensive tackle who needs to work on his techniques.
Scheme Fit and Team Fit: Outside Zone
He fits with a team that likes to run the ball outside the tackles. A good team fit will be the 49ers, Falcons, and Bills.
NFL Player Comp: Walker Little
Pounds and Little have a similar frame and are good in pass protection, but struggle to deliver a punch.
Projection: Backup Player
He will be a backup player and provide depth on the offensive line.
Grade and Round Projection: 2.8, Round 6-7 Pick
He is going to be a Day 3 pick and, more than likely, a late-round pick. I initially graded him a 3.4 but rounded down to a 2.8.
Leave a Reply